Major Sponsors
Alix and Tom Goodman
Fred and Gail Jubitz
Greg and Cathy Tibbles
Sponsors
Amjad and Helen Bangash
Daniel Bergsvik and Donald Hastler
Elizabeth and Kirk Day
Jill and Tony Garvey
Jeffrey M. Lang
Mark New and Robin Snyder
The Caryll M. and Norman F. Sprague Foundation
Betsy Warren
Anonymous
Supporters
Alexander Benenson
Graphic Arts Council of the Portland Art Museum
Additional support provided by Exhibition Series Sponsors
Vibrant, vibrating, and playful, the rock concert posters from 1960s San Francisco capture the energy of both the music and the era. Music promoters Chet Helms and Bill Graham recruited talented young artists to make distinctive posters for their music venues, the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore Auditorium, respectively.
Poster artists invented a graphic language to communicate the excitement of rock concerts. They drew on disparate historical precedents, such as European and American Art Nouveau, Wild West posters, Victorian engravings, and Renaissance art, and combined them with pulsating color and provocative designs. Artists deployed distortion, pattern, and surrealist motifs, juxtaposing heterogeneous objects to mimic the “psychedelic experience” of peering into new realms, often assisted by drugs. A fertile cross-pollination between fashion and posters was also underway.
The exhibition is organized by theme: creative lettering, color and pattern, images of women, appropriation, altered states of consciousness, technique, animal inspiration, and psychedelic Portland. Choose your own path through the galleries to discover the eclectic visual inspiration behind the posters, as well as the fashions that enhanced daily life in colorful San Francisco.
Young Edwardian by Arpeja
Mini Dress, 1960s
Silk, Lurex
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.31
Synthetic materials such as polyester, spandex, and Lurex- a brand of yearns made with metallic threads-were seen as beacons of a new era of fashion. The silver shimmer of this mini dress evokes the excitement of the dawning Space Age.
Mr. B of California (San Francisco)
Maxi Dress, 1960s
Rayon
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.7
Flowers freely mix with the paisley pattern in this flowing gown featuring angel-wing sleeves. The color palette and the motifs echo many of the posters on display in the nearby galleries.
Pioneer Wear (retailed at Teepee Town, New York)
Vest, 1960s
Leather, plastic beads
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.12
Fringed leather vests became synonymous with hippie culture. Inspired by the clothing of the Native Americans of the Great Plains, hippies appropriated Native style in apparel and posters, as seen later in the exhibition. The first owner of this vest added the beading himself.
Bloomberg Audio Guide 200
Text as Image, Image as Text
Wildly inventive lettering is a hallmark of the psychedelic poster. Wes Wilson, the originator of this new style, was inspired by the lettering used by Viennese Secessionist artist Alfred Roller in the early 1900s. Rather than outlining each letter, Roller (and then Wilson) drew the negative space, effectively working in reverse and “carving out” the letters from the background. Wilson thus created a typographic language that defined the moment. Other artists improvised on Wilson’s style and passed around old type manuals, which included script for Wild West posters, Victorian lettering, and circus styles, to fuel their imaginations.
Legibility, the primary goal of an advertising poster, was set aside in favor of trippy inscrutability. When promoter Bill Graham complained about the difficulty deciphering the text, Wilson replied, “Yeah, and that’s why people are gonna stop and look at it.” Wilson was right: the evasive text forced viewers to spend time with the poster if they wished to know the bands, the location, and the dates—information that is usually given utmost prominence in advertising. The dynamic and nearly illegible script nonetheless spoke directly to their intended audience and separated the “hip” crowd from the “straights” who weren’t “tuned in.”
As artists developed their own unique lexical style, text became image and image became text, blending into new forms and conveying the mind-bending fluidity of the concerts they advertised.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Lightning Hopkins, The Jaywalkers, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, April 29-30
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-4)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.6
In Wilson’s first posters, he gave the lettering pride of place, so the text effectively became the image. His early style features pneumatic bubble letters that inflate into optical illusions. As you move to the left in this gallery, note how Wilson’s lettering morphs from soft, rounded forms to become ever more flame-like, illegible, and abstract.
Bloomberg Audio Guide 201
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Andy Warhol And His Plastic Inevitable, The Velvet Underground, Nico, The Mothers, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, May 27-29
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-8)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.8
Wilson uses the text to create the entire composition, eschewing symbols and visual references for this performance pairing Andy Warhol with the Velvet Underground.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, July 15-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-17)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.2
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Quicksilver Messenger Service, Final Solution, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, May 20-21
Color offset lithography on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-7)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.28
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Mindbenders, The Chocolate Watchband,1966
Fillmore Auditorium, July 8-9
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-16)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.29
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Buffalo Springfield, Steve Miller Blues Band, Freedom Highway, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, April 28-30
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-61)
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.7
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Association, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Grass Roots, Sopwith Camel, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, July 22-23
Color offset lithography on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-18)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.30
Just months after Wilson had begun making posters using a bubbly lettering style, he created a powerful design that matches the intensity of the concert promoted. This is widely considered one of the finest “pure text” posters of the time, wherein imaginative flame-like lettering forms the image.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
“Ohm”; Van Morrison, The Daily Flash, Hair, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, October 20-22
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-88)
Portland Art Museum, T2024.47.1
By autumn 1967, Wilson’s lettering had achieved an ecstatic, flame-like character. Here, the flickering shapes forming the text rise from the bottom of the poster and then meld into the face of a man with the ohm symbol on his forehead, connoting a transcendent experience.
Joe Gomez
(American, active 20th century)
“Optical Occlusion”; Big Brother & the Holding Company, Mount Rushmore, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, November 23-25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-93)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.9
Oversized eyelashes are the vehicle to advertise the Avalon Ballroom in this poster by Gomez. Concentric geometric shapes in alternating blue and magenta rise from the woman’s head, interrupted by circles. Together they create a destabilizing field that appears at first convex, the concave.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Chicago Fire”; Miller Blues Band, The Siegel-Schwall Band, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, July 6-9
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-70)
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.35
The lettering of this poster is a prime example of the technique of “carving out” the space around each letter rather than drawing the outlines of the forms. The bold pairing of magenta and blue makes the letters dance between positive and negative space, challenging the viewer to read the flickering text. As Moscoso notes, this method not only produced trippy optical effects but was also much faster to execute; artists worked on tight deadlines and since all text was hand-drawn, it was labor intensive.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Flower Pot”; Blue Cheer, Lee Michaels, North American, Clifton Chenier, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, October 6-8
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-86)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.15
Moscoso adopts the classic painting genre of still life but transforms it into a bouquet of psychedelic blossoms advertising the bands headlining at the Avalon Ballroom.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Mist Dance”; The Youngbloods, The Other Half, Mad River, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, September 15-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-81)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.16
Moscoso used a photograph of two silhouetted nude dancing figures for the centerpiece of this design. He “clothed” them in brilliant colors, patterns, and text. The photograph is by Paul Kagan, an erotic photographer who was a favorite among the poster artists. The use of suggestive or even pornographic material demonstrated the artists’ willingness to push the boundaries of convention and to borrow material from sources high and low.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
“Rorschach Test”; The Blues Project, It’s a Beautiful Day, Nazz-Are Blues Band, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, April 5-7,
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-113)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.20
The petals of the flowers in the lower half of this poster spell out the band names and the venue, a technique first used by Victor Moscoso, as seen in other posters on this wall.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
Poster Show, 1967
Neiman Marcus Exhibition Hall, Dallas, October 2
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-21)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.74
This double-sized poster is an interesting example of the counterculture meeting the high culture, as it advertises a poster show at the upscale retailer Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas. Moscoso all but hid the details of the location, date, and type of exhibition in the flower petals, which begs the question: could the “straight” Neiman Marcus shoppers decode the message?
Collecting Psychedelic Posters and Fashion
The first psychedelic poster I saw was Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley’s 1967 advertisement for the Wilderness Conference in San Francisco, which is on view in this exhibition. Visually, it floored me. The poster spoke to me in a very spiritual way, from the graphic lettering and stunning yellow, green, and black colors to the beautiful photograph of the Native American.
I moved to San Francisco in 1968 to attend San Francisco State University. After settling in the Haight-Ashbury district, I began attending concerts and collecting posters. I recognized, even then, that the poster artists were entering “new territory” through their graphic images and designs—ones that I thought would stand the test of time.
In 1969, I worked at Bally Lo Boutique on Union Square, one of the most popular clothing stores in the city. My interest in fashion from the era resulted in collecting excellent examples of both men’s and women’s styles.
Using my collections, in 2017, I organized the exhibition Behind the Beyond: Psychedelic Posters and Fashion from San Francisco, 1966–71, shown at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon, and later at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York, the site of the Woodstock festival in 1969.
As a long-time member of the Graphic Arts Council, I have tremendous admiration for curator of prints and drawings Mary Weaver Chapin and for museum director Brian Ferriso. My respect for them and for the world-class Portland Art Museum prompted me to donate 150 posters from my collection, many of them on view in this exhibition. Enjoy!
-Gary Westford
Lee Conklin
(American, born 1941)
Ten Years After, Country Weather, Sun Ra, 1968
Fillmore West, November 14-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-145)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.44
A nude woman, accompanied by an octopus with a human head, stands tall on a tiny island, reaching for the sky. Writing letters emanate from the figure’s hands, forming the nearly illegible names of the bands on offer at the Fillmore West. The letters have a thriving, vegetal power, as seen in the vigorous tendrils.
Lee Conklin
(American, born 1941)
The Chambers Brothers, It’s a Beautiful Day, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Sly & the Family Stone, 1968
Fillmore Auditorium, June 18-23
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-125)
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.16
At first glance, the female figures that shape the lettering of the word “Fillmore” recede into the background. Note how Conklin interweaves human shapes throughout the poster, in both positive and negative space. In a recent interview, he remarked of this poster: “I felt like I was really rolling then. There’s nothing I wanted to do more than impress people with my art and make them look-and keep looking and keep looking.”
Lee Conklin
(American, born 1941)
Jeff Beck Group, Spirit, Sweet Linda Divine (Linda Tillery), Sweetwater, 1968
Fillmore West, December 5-8
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-148)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.45
The lively lettering in this poster was inspired by medieval manuscripts and bestiaries. Mermaids, griffins, and hybrid animals mingle with humans to wittily spell out the concert details.
Lee Conklin
(American, born 1941)
Procol Harum, Santana, Saloom Sinclair, 1968
Fillmore West, October 31-November 2
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-143)
Portland Art Museum, T2023.150.2
Conklin began drawing at age five and became fascinated with lettering by the eighth grade. Although not formally trained, he showed great talent and inventiveness from the start of his career as a poster artist. Rather than trying to adapt his designs to the promoted band, Conklin created fascinating images that capture the hippie culture. As he recalls, “We were an alternative culture, and I wanted it to be alternative advertising, where the artwork took over.”
John H. Myers
(American, active 1960s)
The Blues Project, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Stu Gardner Trio, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, February 10-12
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-49)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.33
How to Read a Label
Psychedelic rock posters were, first and foremost, advertisements that needed to relate the band names, the venues, and the dates. When a poster functions as an artwork, the band names serve as the title, which is bolded on the labels; the venues and the dates are on the subsequent line. Careful observers will note inconsistencies and spelling errors, attributable to compositional space, short deadlines, and, reportedly, drug use.
The artists did not title their work, but Chet Helms, head of the production company Family Dog, often gave the compositions nicknames, which have become common parlance among the collecting community. These are in quotation marks before the band names, when known. We acknowledge that the artists had no say in these titles, and some have voiced their dislike of the monikers.
Bill Graham, Family Dog, and Neon Rose (Victor Moscoso’s private label) numbered each poster they published; these numbers are on the second to last line of the label. The Art of Rock, a 1987 reference guide, includes many of the posters outside the productions of Graham and Family Dog; their catalogue numbers are also on the second to last line.
J. Myrick
(American, active 1960s and 1970s)
4th Annual Folk Festival, 1967
Esalen Institute, Big Sur, June 28-29
Color screenprint on paper
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.60
The Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, was founded in 1962 to explore alternative consciousness and the Human Potential Movement. Located three hours south of San Francisco on a stunning stretch of coastline, it attracted members of the counterculture to workshops on topics ranging from Eastern philosophy to music to the psychedelic experience.
The Big Sur Folk Festival, advertised here, brought bands together from 1964 to 1971. In this example, Myrick manipulated the letters into playful shapes and sizes to spell out the names of the headliners, while the leaves impart the dates and location. Notably, this is the only poster in the exhibition that was screenprinted, rather than printed using offset lithography, which suggests a much smaller edition size.
Psychedelic Portland
Portland was a regular stop for bands traveling from San Francisco to Seattle. As in San Francisco, promoters found local talent to advertise their shows. Artists ranged from experienced practitioners such as Jim Blashfield—who had already made posters for the San Francisco scene before returning to his native Portland—to skilled amateurs such as Bruce Weber, a student at Lincoln High School. Paul Bassett and Gina Papen worked as Air Sign Company, creating scores of innovative posters and handbills. The psychedelic style of San Francisco greatly influenced Portland artists, who adopted and adapted the bright palette and surreal juxtapositions developed in the Bay Area while establishing a regional look that emphasized fanciful yet legible lettering.
Music venues dotted downtown Portland, including Beaver Hall, Crystal Ballroom, and Pythian Hall. Significantly, the Masonic Temple, which is now the Mark Building of the Portland Art Museum, hosted bands in the Grand Ballroom. Across the river, Springer’s Ballroom drew crowds to the eastern suburbs, especially as citizens were becoming increasingly leery of hippies and downtown venues began refusing to host their music. Springer’s was so well-known that the address was simply listed as “190th and Powell and Turn Right.”
In homage to psychedelic Portland, local fashion designer Adam Arnold created custom, handcrafted bench cushions for this gallery. His designs reflect and celebrate this vibrant period of our city’s past and highlight the artistic talent in our city today.
Adam Arnold
(American, born 1972)
Bench Cushions, 2024
Foam, various fabrics and fibers, and zippers
“It’s thrilling to have my work alongside that which has inspired me from a young age. I am eternally moved by those who have, by creating from the heart and imagination, expanded our consciousness.”
-Adam Arnold
Bruce Weber
(American, 1953-2014)
Phloebus Union, Soma, Daze of Night, 1971
Springer’s Ballroom, May 1
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.8
Weber was still a student at Lincoln High School when he began designing posters and handbills for rock concerts. His sister recalls him using the family ping-pong table as his drafting board as he perfected his style. His work stands out for its combination of creative lettering, Op art matrices, and Victorian imagery to surreal effect.
Bruce Weber
(American, 1953-2014)
U.S. Cadenza, Short Dog, Dan Berry & T. Dwarf, 1970
Smith Memorial Center, June 6-7
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.9
A. Cox
(American, active 1960s)
The Chambers Brothers, Roxy, Ouroboros, 1970
Autzen Stadium, Eugene, August 8
Color offset lithograph on paper
On loan from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.4
Unknown artist
(American, active 1960s)
Spirit, Total Eclipse, Gazebo, 1969
Springer’s Ballroom, July 26
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.3
Unknown artist
(American, active 1960s)
John Mayall, 1968
Springer’s Ballroom, August 17
Color offset lithograph on paper
On loan from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.1
Paul Hebb
(American, active 1960s)
Blue Cheer, P.H. Phactor Jug Band, 1967
Pythian Hall, April 28
Color offset lithograph on paper
On loan from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.11
Catherine Weinstein
(American, 1943-2003)
Little Nolan, The Antoin Brothers, The Portland Zoo, 1968
Beaver Hall, June 21-22
Color offset lithograph on paper
Portland Art Museum, T2024.69.1
Weinstein was a self-taught illustrator and among the few women working in the male-dominated arena of rock poster design. Having a fiery personality, she adopted the monikers Thunderbitch and Hedda Goldspace. The poster, among her finest, features Art Nouveau-inspired swirls and distinctive lettering of her own design.
Gina Papern
(American, born 1946)
Gazebo, U.S. Cadenza, 1967
Pythian Hall, April 7
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of the artist, L2024.22.1
The inspiration for this design was the cover of the vintage sheet music “Coral Sea” published in 1920. Papen, together with Catherine Weinstein, was one of the few female artists working in this male-dominated realm.
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
Work-Out, P.H. Phactor Jug Band, The Tweedy Brothers, 1967
Willamette Gym, April 7
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of the artist, L2024.21.1
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
Blue Cheer, The Tweedy Brothers, 1967
Pythian Hall, April 21
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of the artist, L2024.21.2
Bassett eschewed the psychedelic morphic lettering of San Francisco for a legible style that was immediately comprehensible. In this poster, a stoic frog dominates the composition. Bassett forgot to include the date, so the promoters used a rubber stamp to add “April 29” to the handbills.
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
The Warlocks, P.H. Phactor Jug Band, Thundering Herd, 1967
Pythian Hall, April 14
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.5
Bassett, a member of P.H. Phactor, started designing posters, as he says, “because somebody had to!” He and Gina Papen worked together under the moniker Air Sign Company, referring to their astrological signs (Libra and Gemini, respectively). As Bassett’s work became better known, he garnered mail-order commissions for acts from Los Angeles to Seattle.
Bruce Weber
(American, 1953-2014)
Notary Sojac, Crust, Redeye, McFarland Trio, 1970
Charix Coffeehouse, February 13-14 and 21-22
Xerox
On loan from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.3
Peter Langston, lead guitarist for the band Portland Zoo, recalls that they “became the house band for the Charix, the Unitarian Church’s outreach coffeehouse. Of course, Charix was fabulously successful; it was the place where everyone bought drugs.”
Paul Hebb
(American, active 1960s)
U.S. Cadenza, The Warlocks, Nazz-Are Blues Band, date unknown
Pythian Hall, June 2
Color offset lithograph on paper
On loan from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.12
Bill Ham
(American, born 1932)
Light Painting 2: Kinetic Abstract Expressionism, 2016
Overhead projectors, layers of glass, oil, pigments and other liquids, and transparent materials
Running time: 61 minutes
This recording is an arrangement of spontaneous studio sessions digitally recorded in 2016 with the collaboration and assistance of Emi Ito. © 2016 Bill Ham
Ham began “painting with light” in 1964 using overhead projectors, colored liquids in petri dishes, slides, and other imagery. He soon took his art to the Avalon Ballroom, where the entire space was his “canvas,” as the lights were projected on the stage, the walls, and the concertgoers, who became part of the production. Each performance was unique because he reacted to the music, the spectators, and the energy of the room.
Ham works with saturated color that appears to transmogrify before the viewers’ eyes, mimicking the effects of LSD. His popular productions received billing alongside the musical acts, as seen in several posters in this exhibition.
Jim Blashfied
(American, born 1944)
The Portland Zoo, Sons of Champlin, Total Eclipse, 1969
Springer’s Ballroom, July 4
Color offset lithograph on paper
On loan from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.2
Jim Blashfield
(American, born 1944)
The Youngbloods, The Portland Zoo, River & Ron Bruce, 1969
Springer’s Ballroom, July 18
Color offset lithograph on paper
On loan from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.9
Jim Blashfield
(American, born 1944)
Steve Miller Band, Alice Cooper, Total Eclipse, 1969
Masonic Temple, July 29-30
Color offset lithograph on paper
Portland Art Museum, T2024.69.2
Jim Blashfield
(American, born 1944)
Steve Miller Band, Total Eclipse, U.S. Cadenza, 1969
Masonic Temple, June 25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jazon Blumklotz, L2024.15.1
As an artist, Blashfield was driven by composition and experimentation, allowing his drawing to dictate the path: “I start by making marks, and if the marks turn into this or that, fine.” In this case, the result was a melancholy avian creature who seems to be pondering the universe. One orb sits in its lap, while another appears in the horizon and a third forms a nimbus around its head.
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 213
Jim Blashfield
(American, born 1944)
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Kaleidoscope, 1969
Masonic Temple, July 10
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.2
Intrigued by the music scene, Blashfied, a Portland native, moved to San Francisco in early 1967, where he designed posters for the Fillmore Auditorium (as seen in other parts of the exhibition). He returned to Portland in late 1968; his reputation had preceded him, and he quickly gained commissions for local venues.
Blashfield’s Portland designs differ considerably from his Bay Area work. Eschewing the organic, molten lettering of the early psychedelic style, he adopted a standard typeface, Cooper Black, which he favored for its “friendly, rounded aspect,” in the artist’s words.
Doug Harriman
(American, active 1960s)
Grand Opening Dance, 1967
Masonic Temple, December 29
Color offset lithograph on paper
Portland Art Museum, T2024.69.3
Egyptian iconography was irresistible for psychedelic rock poster artists who valued the outstanding graphic aesthetics coupled with a hint of the occult. Harriman uses the form of a mummy as his field, restricting the lettering to the shape of the lower body.
Unknown artist
(American, active 1960s)
Sons of Champlin, 1969
Masonic Temple, May 31
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.14.4
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
Banana Festival, The Warlocks, Thundering Herd, U.S. Cadenza, Great Pumpkin, 1967
Pythian Hall
Color offset lithograph on paper
On load from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.8
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
The Weeds, The Tweedy Brothers, 1967
Pythian Hall, May 17
Color offset lithograph on paper
On load from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.16
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, 1967
Memorial Coliseum, May 28
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.11
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
Portland Spring Trips Festival, 1967
Portland Armory, May 14
Color offset lithograph on paper
On load from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.5
Paul Bassett
(American, born 1941)
Roxy, The Portland Zoo, 1969
Beaver Hall, June 6-7
Color offset lithograph on paper
On load from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.10
Unknown artist (deWaide?)
(American, active 1960s)
Blue Cheer, Nazz-Are Blues Band, 1968
Crystal Ballroom, February 16-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.10
Unknown artist
(American, active 1960s)
Tribal Stomp, date unknown
Pythian Hall, June 23
Color offset lithograph on paper
On load from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.17
Bruce Weber
(American, 1953-2014)
Nazz-Are Blues Band, U.S. Cadenza, Rhythm Method, 1969
Beaver Hall, March 21-22
Color offset lithograph on paper
On load from the Oregon Historical Society, L2024.13.7
Bruce Weber
(American, 1935-2014)
Head West, Rock and Roll Circus, 1969
Pythian Ballroom, November 6
Color offset lithograph of paper
Private collection, L2024.3.2
Unknown artist
(American, active 1960s)
Dance In: The Youngbloods, The Family Tree, Soundvendor, Stone Garden, 1967
Masonic Temple, May 4
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.6
Unknown artist
(American, active 1960s)
Grateful Dead, Poverty’s People, U.S. Cadenza, Nigells, 1967
Masonic Temple, July 18
Color offset lithograph on paper
Collection of Jason Blumklotz, L2024.15.7
Animal Attraction
Orangutans, hummingbirds, dogs, bears, elephants, lizards, and cats—so many cats!—enliven rock posters and fashion of this era. Zebra stripes, nature’s own Op art, work equally well on a mod coat and a trippy poster. For Wilfred Weisser, the sinuous tentacles of an octopus could be both design and billboard, and colorful peacock plumes inspired chromatic choices seen in posters by Bonnie MacLean, Wes Wilson, and Victor Moscoso. Lee Conklin put lizards to work as elaborate design elements worthy of the medieval Book of Kells.
Wild animals were an attractive symbol for hippies, whose back-to-the-land ethos and emphasis on personal freedom were echoed, they believed, in the lives of the untamed. That is not to say that domesticated animals were overlooked. The foremost hippie commune and Chet Helms’s influential production company, after all, were named Family Dog. Cats, however, clearly won the poster contest. Mysterious, playful, fiercely independent, and, it often seems, capable of viewing and hearing things beyond human capacity, they take center stage in a surprising number of posters. Robert Fried and David Singer featured felines repeatedly, highlighting their otherworldly stares.
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, born 1937)
“Dancing Bear”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, Ace Of Cups, Flamin’ Groovies, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, May 10-12,
Color offset lithograph on paper
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.72.5
Scnepf originally created this poster to advertise John Lee Hooker, who was playing with the Dancing Bear. When that lineup fell through, he repurposed his design overnight, retaining the bear poised in ballet slippers and the royal cloak he holds aloft, but changing the names of the bands. In the foreground, mushrooms enliven the meadow, slyly referring to the magical fungi favored by hippies.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
Howlin’ Wolf, Big Brother & the Holding Company, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, September 23-24
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-27)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.4
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Peacock Ball”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, Steve Miller Blues Band, The Daily Flash, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, March 10-11
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-51)
Private collection, L2024.3.1
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide212
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Byrds, Moby Grape, Andrew Staples, 1967
Winterland, March 31-April 1
Fillmore Auditorium, April 2
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-57)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.2
French and English Art Nouveau are the sources for Wilson’s elaborate peacock, but the sublime design is his alone. The artist revealed that this was his favorite among the many posters he had created.
Bonnie MacLean
(American, 1939-2020)
The Yardbirds, The Doors, The James Cotton Blues Band, Richie Havens, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, July 25-30
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-75)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.3
Is creative competition at the heart of these three stunning posters featuring peacocks by Moscoso, Wilson, and MacLean, all in the span of a few months? MacLean’s integration of image and lettering and her sophisticated use of color make this her finest composition and one of the high points of the psychedelic era.
Jim Blashfield
(American, born 1944)
The Electric Flag, Mother Earth, LDM Spiritual Band, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, September 14-16
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-83)
Portland Art Museum, T2023.149.2
Mr. Dino (New York, Paris, Florence)
Dress, 1960s
Polyester
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.32
The elaborate paisley pattern of this dress may have been inspired by peacock feathers, a popular motif in Art Nouveau designs of the 1890s. Note how the scalloped neckline playfully repeats the shapes of the fabric. Poster artists took inspiration from the colors and forms of feathers, too, as seen in the examples on this wall.
Lilli Ann
Coat Dress, 1960s
Knit fabric with faux leather collar, pocket trim, and belt
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.33
Lilli Ann was founded in San Francisco in 1933 by Adolph Schuman, who named his company after his wife. This zebra-striped coat reflects the mod fashions that mixed with West Coast hippie style.
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, born 1937)
“Iron Butterfly”; Iron Butterfly, The Velvet Underground, The Crome Syrcus, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, June 7-9
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-122)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.33
San Andreas Fault (Tad Hunter)
(American, active 1960s)
“The Family Dog Revival”; The Mothers, Sir Douglas Quintet, Pacific Gas & Electric,
1969
Winterland, January 17-18
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-690177)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.79
Given the pun potential of the production company’s name, Family Dog, surprisingly few canines appear in psychedelic posters. Here, an elegantly veiled retriever joins a bulldog in a natty fedora to spread the word about the Family Dog Revival at Winterland.
Lee Conklin
(American, born 1941)
Moby Grape, Jeff Beck Group, Mint Tattoo,
Charles Lloyd Quartet, Herd, The James
Cotton Blues Band, 1968
Fillmore West, July 23-28
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-130)
Portland Art Museum, T2023.150.1
Conklin describes his work as “cyberdelic neo-rococo,” but he borrowed from many art historical eras. Here, the intertwined lizards are reminiscent of the illuminated capitals and marginalia in medieval manuscripts.
Wilfred Weisser
(German, active 1960s)
Country Joe and the Fish, The Incredible String Band, Albert Collins, 1968
Fillmore Auditorium, May 16-18
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-120)
Gift of Gary Westford. 2019.29.41
A psychedelic octopus? Why not! This lavish specimen dominates the composition, the suckers of its tentacles serving as the perfect location for the text. In the background, the Golden Gate Bridge references San Francisco, the epicenter of hippie life.
Patrick Lofthouse
(American, born 1937)
Love, The Staple Singers, Roland Kirk, 1968
Fillmore Auditorium, April 18
Winterland, April 19-20
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-116)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.13
Norman Orr
(American, born 1949)
Santana, Dr. John the Night Tripper,
Luther Allison, 1970
Fillmore West, September 10-13
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-248)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.59
Orr found inspiration in the 19th-century circus posters for both his imagery and his lettering.
David Singer
(American, born 1941)
Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, The Stonemans,
1969
Fillmore West, April 23 and 26
Winterland, April 24-25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-229)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.55
In a surreal collage, Singer combines Mount Rushmore, two massive orangutans, three stop-motion views of a hummingbird, and a house cat flying through the center of the composition.
David Singer
(American, born 1941)
Country Joe and the Fish, Blues Image,
Silver Metre, 1969
Fillmore West, May 28-31
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-236)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.56
In Greek mythology, the poet Orpheus was so skilled in playing the lyre that he charmed all the creatures around him. Was Singer making an analogy to the musical talents of the bands playing at the Fillmore West? The animals are enthralled, but in the bottom left corner, three nude figures cover their ears and turn away.
David Singer
(American, born 1941)
B.B. King, Albert King, Mendelbaum, 1970
Fillmore West, May 21-24
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham
Museum Property, T2023.149.1
Singer is an inveterate collector of images, which then find their way into his posters in novel combinations. His biggest influence? His great-aunt Flossy’s scrapbooks, filled with images clipped from magazines. Singer recalls:
She’d cut out nothing but dogs for those two pages, paste them down, and then you’d turn the page and it would be all cats. The next page would be something else. Whenever we went to Flossy’s, I always asked to look at her scrapbooks.
Here, Singer collages a giant tabby snoozing peacefully alongside a sculpture of a woman holding two children.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Pink Panther”; Steve Miller Blues Band,
The Daily Flash, The Doors, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, June 1-4
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-64)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.10
Robert Fried
(American, 1937-1975)
“Super Ball”; Canned Heat, Lothar and the
Hand People, Allmen Joy, Superball, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, November 305
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-90)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.36
David Singer
(American, born 1941)
Spirit, Poco, Gypsy, 1970
Fillmore West, May 14-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-233)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.5
At an antique shop north of San Francisco, Singer found a black and white photograph of this cat with the name Snowball inscribed on the back. Singer was smitten by the photograph, which he still displays in his home in Sonoma, California. Snowball, he reports, has become a part of the family.
Robert Fried
(American, 1937-1975)
“Kitty”; Buffalo Springfield, Eight Penny
Matter, 1967
Family Dog West, Denver, October 6-7
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-D5)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.6
The hypnotic stare of Fried’s psychedelic kitty, rendered in shades of purple and magenta, arrests viewers in their tracks, and distracts from the misspelling of the Eight Penny Matter band name.
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, born 1937)
“Sitting Pretty”; Blue Cheer, Mount
Rushmore, Country Joe and the Fish, Lee
Michaels, Mad River, Flamin’ Groovies, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, December 31
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-99)
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.72.3
Schnepf enjoyed partnering with photographer Thomas Weir, whose work was often published in the San Francisco Oracle, a leading hippie journal of the time. Schnepf recalls that Weir took this photograph of his wife, Renée, in Muir Woods in Marin County, California. Seated on a fallen log, she is the ultimate Earth Mother: part human, part forest pixie.
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, born 1937)
“Tree Frog”; Jim Kweskin Jug Band,
Country Joe and the Fish, Lee Michaels,
Blue Cheer, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, December 28-30
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-98)
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.72.2
The distorted proportions of Renée (wife of photographer Thomas Weir), with her elongated arms and truncated legs, suggest a trippy tree frog. The heightened color palette and the supremely skillful lettering further the psychedelic connection.
Vamps, Virgins, Earth Mothers, And Love Goddesses
The counterculture of the 1960s was centered on the male experience. The nascent women’s liberation movement had made little ground, and regressive stereotypes abounded, many dating from Symbolist art and literature of the 1890s. Women in psychedelic posters appear in the guise of the femme fatale, the virgin, the Earth Mother, and the love goddess. While some images were surely used for their campy appeal, they nonetheless reflect the male fantasies within the hippie world and mainstream culture. There is no equivalent use of male figures in psychedelic rock posters.
Artists sourced imagery from various time periods for inspiration. The late 1800s to the early 1900s was the most fruitful epoch for femmes fatales. Franz von Stuck’s sultry Eve, depicted in his etching Sensuality from around 1891 (on view in this gallery), was readily adopted in Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley’s posters as a new seductress for the Avalon Ballroom, as were 1920s film stills of the great silent screen vamps Alla Nazimova and Gloria Swanson.
Contemporary sources informed the work of Bob “Raphael” Schnepf, who explored the power of the Earth Mother, an archetype that traditionally celebrates fertility and a strong connection to nature. Schnepf’s posters feature photographs by Thomas Weir of his nude wife, Renée, presenting her as a psychedelic forest sprite.
Posters by female artists, however, veer from these stereotypes, as in Bonnie MacLean’s images in this section, in which the women depicted face the viewer with agency and self-possession divorced from their sexuality.
Bonnie MacLean
(American, 1939-2020)
Blue Cheer, Vanilla Fudge, The Sunshine
Company, Donovan, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, September 21 and 23
Cow Palace, September 22
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-84)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.38
Unlike MacLean’s male counterparts, she did not sexualize the women in her posters. Significantly, her female subjects exhibit a neutral rather than smiling visage, suggesting that they are not trying to please the male gaze. Here, a female face meets the viewer as an equal, not as an object. The calm, serious expression projects an inner serenity.
Bonnie MacLean
(American, 1939-2020)
Eric Burdon and the Animals, Mother Earth
Hour Glass, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, October 19-21
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-89)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.4
An enigmatic smile and oblique gaze mark the face of a woman bearing a crown displaying the names of the bands on offer at the Fillmore Auditorium. Women in MacLean’s posters tend toward the self-knowing and contained, rather than the frenzied and sexualized bodies favored by male artists.
Bonnie MacLean
(American, 1939-2020)
Martha and the Vandellas, The Paupers,
1967
Fillmore Auditorium, May 19-20
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-64)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.17
MacLean was married to Fillmore Auditorium promoter and impresario Bill Graham. She created the ephemeral paintings in the Fillmore’s lobby that advertised the coming bands each week. It was only when she began making posters in 1967 that her work became more widely acknowledged. Often overlooked for her unique contribution, she is omitted from the canon of the “big five poster artists” (Moscoso, Wilson, Kelley, and Griffin) despite her abundant talents. MacLean’s fluid line and dynamic lettering were instrumental in developing the look of the counterculture.
Mari Tepper
(American, born 1948)
The Electric Flag, The Collectors, Albert
King, 1968
Fillmore Auditorium, Winterland, April 25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-117)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.14
The rock poster world was a male-dominated space. Except for Bonnie MacLean, whose work is on view in this gallery, few women gained commissions for posters. Tepper made just two posters for Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium. Her style is marked by a playful line that wanders around the page, creating whimsical figures often endowed with an abundance of extra fingers and toes. Here, in a gendered role reversal, the clothed woman stands tall and proud while the diminutive nude man seems to be scurrying off the poster.
Photo-Offset Lithography and Kinetic Posters
Psychedelic rock posters of the 1960s were printed using photo-offset lithography, a medium that is both fast and inexpensive. Artists, working with small presses rather than the commercial firms that cranked out volumes of advertisements, introduced experimentation and innovation to design their dynamic posters. Talented press operators helped the artists make color separations—as seen in this example of The Woman with the Green Hair— that would work as a whole when combined or overlapped. Artists constantly pushed the boundaries of offset printing, creating new effects with color and inking.
Sometimes artistic experiments yielded surprising results. In 1967, Victor Moscoso made a poster featuring a still image of the dancer Annabelle Moore (on view nearby). A friend of the artist hung the poster near flickering Christmas lights and noticed that when alternating blue and red lights were projected on its surface, the figure appeared to move. This accidental discovery led to purposeful action: Moscoso created several more “kinetic posters” exploiting this effect.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“The Woman with the Green Hair”;
Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Big Brother & the
Holding Company, Electric Train, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, October 7-8
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-29)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.5
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 211
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“The Woman with the Green Hair”
(color separations: black, green, red,
magenta), 1966
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-29)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.38-40; 2023.69.7
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain 1936)
“Strongman”; The Youngbloods,
The Siegal-Schwall Band, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, June 15-18
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-66)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.11
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain 1936)
“Incredibly Poetry”; Ferlingetti, Wieners,
Meltzer, Whalen, Welch, McLure, Ginsberg,
1968
Nourse Auditorium, June 8
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-24)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.2
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain 1936)
“Butterfly Lady”; The Doors, The Sparrow,
1967
Avalon Ballroom, May 12-13
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-61)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.36
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain 1936)
The San Francisco Poster Show, 1967
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-26)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.11
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Great Society, Sopwith Camel,
The 13th Floor Elevators, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, August 26-27
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-25)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.3
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Howlin’ Wolf, Big Brother & the Holding
Company, Harbinger Complex, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, April 21-23
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-60)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.35
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, born 1937)
Pacific Ballet Company, Gala Spring Season,
1967
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by the Pacific Ballet Company
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.72.1
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Angel”; Steve Miller Blues Band,
Mother Earth, Bukka White 1967
Avalon Ballroom, September 1-3
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-78)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.65
On the opposite side of the spectrum of femme fatale imagery lies the pure, virginal depiction of womanhood, frequently represented by angels. The origin of this design is a photograph of a 1915 statue by Adolph Weinman. The model who posed for it, Audry Munson, was one of the great beauties of the day. Weinman, and subsequently Mouse and Kelley, emphasized her sensual curves, making this angel a combination of the carnal and the spiritual.
David Smith
(American, 1906-1965)
“Mechanico Mandala”; Taj Mahal,
Dave van Ronk, The Family Tree, A.B. Skhy,
Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, May 31-June 2
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-121)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.23
Paul Kagan, a photographer who specialized in erotic scenes, took this image of the artist, David Smith, sitting back-to-back with a woman. Smith turned the photograph on its side and doubled it, creating a new image suggestive of a sexual pose. It is a rare instance of male nudity (albeit highly discreet) in a psychedelic rock poster.
Alton Kelley
(American, 1940-2008)
Charles Lloyd Quartet, Vanilla Fudge, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, September 29-October 1
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-85)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.1
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
“The Sound”; Jefferson Airplane, The Paul
Butterfield Blues Band, Muddy Waters
Blues Band, 1966
Winterland, September 23-24, 30, and October 1
Fillmore Auditorium, September 25 and October 2
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-29)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.12
This poster, which had three print runs featuring different colors, is quintessential of the era. The nude female figure sways to the music, her movement heightened by the lettering that molds to her undulating curves. But is this image liberating or objectifying? Some commentators view it as a sign of female freedom, while others think it is a pinup goddess of male hippie fantasy. What do you see?
Tom Wilkes
(American, 1939-2009)
Monterey International Pop Festival, 1967
Monterey, June 16-18
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref.: Art of Rock 3.5
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.62
The centerpiece for this poster is a 1906 photograph of actress Maud Allan provocatively dressed as the biblical temptress Salomé. Swirls in an Art Nouveau style surround the nearly nude figure, and metallic silver ink adds to the symbolism of the design. Wilkes lessens the erotic charge by adding a wide pink necktie that partially obscures her breasts but features an image of the god Pan, known for his unbridled sexuality.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain 1936)
Steve Miller Blues Band, 1967
Matrix, January 10-15
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-2)
Portland Art Museum, T2024.47.2
Moscoso rightfully refers to this as his first “psychedelic pinup poster.” The source photograph is a French postcard from around 1900 of a nude model posing as Cleopatra. Like the biblical Salomé, Cleopatra was considered dangerous, powerful, and sexual. Such femmes fatales were ubiquitous in Symbolist literature as attractive yet deadly characters. This combination was irresistible for poster artists, who mined the past to populate their designs.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Moby Grape”; Moby Grape, The Sparrow
The Charlatans, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, January 13-14
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-43)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.34
Alla Nazimova, a Russian American actress, is depicted in this film still from the 1923 movie Salomé. Since biblical times, Salomé has been a popular trope of the dangerous woman using her sexuality to deadly ends. Her head tilted back, eyes closed, she appears to be in a state of ecstatic arousal or a mystical trance. Smoke emanating from her open palm gives rise to the text advertising the bands playing at the Avalon Ballroom.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Dance Dance”; Quicksilver Messenger
Service, The Charlatans, Congress of
Wonders, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, December 15-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-96)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.16
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Gloria Swanson”; Big Brother & the
Holding Company, Sir Douglas Quintet
1966
Avalon Ballroom, October 15-16
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-30)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.33
Mouse and Kelley combined elements of a Wild West “wanted” poster with Art Nouveau lettering and a little white dog peeking out of the number six in this mash-up of old and new. Actress Gloria Swanson, pictured here in a 1924 photograph by Edward Steichen, was the femme fatale par excellence of the 1920s. Her veiled face, large eyes, and transfixing stare telegraphy female sexuality and danger, equally legible to audiences of the 1960s.
For comparison
Franz von Stuck
(German, 1863-1928)
Sensuality, ca. 1891
Etching on paper
Museum Purchase: Print Acquisition Fund, 2016.134.1
Symbolist artist Franz von Stuck made many pictures of a nude woman intertwined with a large snake, a composition that won him widespread fame in both Europe and the United States. The various titles he used- Sin, Vice, and Sensuality-make no specific historical reference but strongly allude to the symbolism of Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Von Stuck’s depictions, the woman and the serpent represent seduction and ultimately death, making her an iconic femme fatale.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Snake Lady”; Jefferson Airplane,
The Great Society, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, July 22-23
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-17)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.32
The central image here reproduces one of the many variations of Franz von Stuck’s fin de siècle paintings of Eve with a massive, hissing snake; an etched version is on view nearby. The association of sex and danger appealed to the countercultural crowd, and the reuse of a 19th-century painting makes the poster both witty and compelling. Mouse and Kelley would employ Von Stuck’s imagery in three posters, two of which are on display in this exhibition.
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 203
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Snake Lady”; Big Brother & the Holding
Company, Love, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, July 15-16
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-17A)
Gift of Gary Westford Collection, 2023.69.37
An Explosion of Color and Motion
Bold, brilliant, pulsating color is a prominent attribute of the psychedelic style. Perhaps no artist was more passionate or successful in making the colors dance than Spanish-born Victor Moscoso. He trained first at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and then at Yale University, where he was a student of color theorist Josef Albers. Fascinated by the relational aspects of color and human perception, Albers noted that “in visual perception there is a discrepancy between the physical fact and psychic effect.” Moscoso exploited this gap, creating posters that seem to writhe, vibrate, and shift between figure and ground. In a 2015 interview, he recalled, “The goal of my posters was, ideally, if somebody was across the street, they’d see the vibrating colors and say ‘What’s that?’ They’d cross the street and spend a half hour or a week trying to read it.”
Other artists were equally invested in color. Wes Wilson, often considered the founding father of psychedelic posters, had a keen eye for color. He worked at a commercial offset lithography studio, so his knowledge of the practical aspects of printing allowed him to exploit the layering of inks to make intense, saturated hues, effects quickly adopted by his fellow poster artists. Patterns intensified the designs; grids, checkerboards, and swirls create an explosion of color and motion.
The goal was maximum color and pattern for maximum impact. As Moscoso noted, “The musicians were turning up their amplifiers to the point where they were blowing out your eardrums. I did the equivalent with the eyeballs.”
Lee Conklin
(American, born 1941)
Canned Heat, Gordon Lightfood, Cold
Blood, 1968
Fillmore West, October 3-5
Offset lithograph on paper
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection,L2023.90.19
Color, pattern, and text fight for the viewer’s attention in this maximalist poster by Conklin. Eventually, the eye discerns a toilet emitting pneumatic bubble letters listing the artists playing at the Fillmore West, and the undulating female figures and skulls surrounding the border gradually come into focus. Conklin often blended human figures into fantastic shapes in his posters, creating a highly psychedelic effect.
Stanley Mouse
(American, Born 1940)
“Libertie”; Blood, Sweat & Tears, John
Handy, Son House, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, March 15-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.18
For comparison
Josef Albers
(American, born Germany, 1888-1976)
Late Reminder, From Homage To The Square,
1953
Oil on Masonite
Gift Of Mrs. William S. Ladd, 55.165
Albers, an influential teacher at the Weimar Bauhaus in the 1920s, fled Nazi Germany in 1933. He joined the faculty at Yale University, where he continued his pioneering research into how people see and experience color. In paintings and prints, he demonstrated that perception of a color is impacted by the other color in proximity. He published his findings in his landmark-Interaction of Color-in 1963. Poster artist Victor Moscoso studied with Albers at Yale. He took his master’s lessons and bent them to his own ends, creating some of the most chromatically intense psychedelic posters of the era.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Bobbsey Twins”; Chambers Brothers,
Iron Butterfly, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, April 28-29
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-59)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.9
Moscoso, a gifted and playful colorist, used both custom-blended inks and standard CMYK inks straight from the factory. His signature trio of colors was Pantone Process Cyan C, Process Magenta C, and Orange 021 C (#fe5000), an eye-popping trifecta of prismatic power. Ironically, he often paired this color scheme with classic art historical references. Here, the source image is “The Three Sisters,” an oil painting by Italian artist Palma il Vecchio from around 1520.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Neptune’s Notion”; Moby Grape,
The Charlatans, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, February 24-25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-49)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.8
Moscoso was remarkably well-versed with the history of art. References to Renaissance, neoclassical, and 19th-century painting and sculpture abound in his work, recolored and repurposed to new, psychedelic ends. He knew that viewers would appreciate the recycled imagery even if they couldn’t place it precisely. Here, Moscoso quotes the massive 1811 oil painting “Jupiter and Thetis” by French artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Jupiter becomes Neptune, the god of the sea, replete with a massive fish curled over his left shoulder.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Rites of Spring”; The Cloud, The Plastic
Explosion, 1967
Webb’s in Stockton, April 1
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-11)
Gift Of Clifford S. Ackley, 2018.49.2
While some of Moscoso’s historical borrowings appear random, there is often a subtle logic at play. The 1770 sculpture by Clodion at the center of this composition depicts a satyr placing a garland on the head of a bacchante- that is, a female follower of Bacchus, the god of wine and intoxication. Both satyrs and bacchantes were associated with frenzied dancing and indulgence, an ancient link that may still have resonated through the hippie consciousness. The wreath is analogous to the garlands and “flower power” of the 1960s.
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 204
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
The Chambers Brothers, 1967
Matrix, March 28-30 and April 4-6
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-12)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.57
Perhaps the most elegant and restrained of all of Moscoso’s posters, this image has been repurposed so often in contemporary visual culture that it is difficult to see it with fresh eyes. Using his favorite color combination, Moscoso let the photograph of the cool Californian speak for itself and limited the lettering to the lenses of her sunglasses.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Plains of Quicksilver”; Quicksilver
Messenger Service, Steve Miller Blues Band,
John Lee Hooker, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, March 22-23
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-53)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.63
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
The Blushing Peony, 1966
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-17)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.24
Fashion was as much a part of the psychedelic experience as music and posters. The Blushing Peony Boutique catered to young hippies, claiming to be “an extension of your skin.”
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood “Clean-In,”
1967
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-15)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.23
As more and more hippies flocked to San Francisco, city officials became alarmed by piles of trash in Haight-Ashbury, the epicenter of countercultural life. To forestall the increasing police presence, a “clean-in” was organized. Moscoso was tapped to design the poster. He recalls that “these posters hung in just about every window… a wonderful sight for me!”
Carol Brent
Mini Dress, 1960s
Synthetic fabric
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.15
Carol Brent was a house brand for Montgomery Ward. Psychedelic fashions that emerged in San Francisco became available across America via mass retailers, bringing hippie style to a broad public.
Peter Barron of England
Mini Dress, 1960s
Silk, nylon
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.14
Although the cut of this dress is conservative, the optical pattern and the intense marriage of magenta, purple, and chartreuse create a daring fashion choice. The striking color combinations are akin to the posters of Victor Moscoso, as seen on the adjacent wall.
Wilfred Weisser
(German, active 1960s)
The Loading Zone, The Crome Syrcus, H.P. Lovecraft, Tiny Tim, 1968
Fillmore Auditorium, May 9-11
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-119)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.40
Weisser makes the connection between music and sex quite clear in this design, in which a concentric grid radiates out from the crotch of a nude, pigtailed dance.
Bonnie MacLean
(American, 1939-2020)
The Chambers Brothers, The Sunshine Company, The Siegal-Schwall Band, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, January 11-13
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Brill Graham (BG-102)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.81
Robert Fried
(American, 1937-1975)
“Sky Web”; The Charlatans, Buddy Guy, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, September 22-24
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-83)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.72
Grids were a common motif in Fred’s posters. Like vortexes, the grid could suggest movement through space, also seen in the poster by Moscoso on view nearby.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
KMPX Radio Station 1969
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Neon Rose (NR-20)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.19
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Horns of Plenty”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, Mount Rushmore, Big Brother & the Holding Company, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, June 29-July 2
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-68)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.12
This poster-one of Moscoso’s most virtuoso displays of lettering-features a central yin-yang composed of pure text. Symbols of Eastern religion or practice were common signifiers of alternative thought, even if hippies displayed only a cursory knowledge of the traditions they referenced.
Victor Moscoso
(American, born Spain, 1936)
“Swirley”; The Doors, Steve Miller Blues Band, Haji Baba 1967
Avalon Ballroom, April 14-15
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-57)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.26
Swirling shapes and vortexes were popular motifs for psychedelic poster artists, conveying a portal to a new world or consciousness. If you look closely, you may be able to discern the photograph of a nude woman that forms the background of this poster.
Jim Blashfield
(American, born 1944)
Chuck Berry, Charles Lloyd Quartet, Steve Miller Blues Band, Young Rascals, Hair, Count Basie and His Orchestra, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, August 15-21
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-78)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.29
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Charles Lloyd Quartet, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, January 27-29,
Color offset lithograph on paper
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.31
For Comparison
William H. Bradley
(American, 1868-1962)
The Chap Book, May 1895
Color offset lithograph on paper
Gift Of Clifford S. Ackley in memory of Jon Lincoln and Owen Chamberlain, 2018.49.1
The poster artists of the 1960s borrowed freely from their predecessors, including Bradley, who excelled in making posters for literary magazines in the 1890s. Here, he used closely spaced lines that create a subtle optical vibration, a technique put to good effect by the artists in this gallery.
Alice of California
Tunic, 1960s
Perma-Press
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.17
Passport Fashions
Mini Dress, 1960s
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.30
Designers exploited bright colors and intricate patterns to signal their creativity and defiance of the staid sartorial norms of the previous generation. Starburst and vortex patterns were particularly popular, perhaps because they mimic the effects of the light shows that accompanied rock concerts and suggest a prismatic (and drug-fueled?) view into a new world.
Rudi Gernreich
Dress, 1960s
Silk
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.8
Rajput, Designed by Jotilla (India)
Shirt, 1960s
Cotton
Loan from the Gary Westforn Collection, L2024.12.18
This shirt combines a western yoke with distinctive fabric from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, India.
Unknown designer
Jeans, 1960s
Denim
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.27
Europ Cuir (Paris)
Vest and Skirt, 1960s
Leather with appliqué
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.10-11
Natural materials, such as leather and nubuck, appealed to hippies’ back-to-nature ideal and reinforced the Earth Mother trope. The use of leather may also reference Native American wear, which the counterculture appropriated extensively.
Sambo (Samuel Sherman) for Dollyrockers
Mini Dress, 1960s
Cotton
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.9
The lace bodice and high neck of this mini dress suggest an Edwardian influence, while the short length and playful fabric are pure 1960s. Dollyrockers, a British label, freely mixed sources of inspiration in its creations.
Gunnes Sax
Maxi Dress, 1960s
Cotton, lace
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.23
Like poster artists, fashion designers loved pillaging historical moments for inspiration. Victorian and Edwardian clothes were culled from thrift stores and given new life, while brands like Gunne Sax created new fashions based on old styles. Founded in San Francisco in 1967, Gunne Sax quickly became known for its signature “granny dresses.”
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 208
Jackson Miao (M.F. Jackson & Co. Ltd, Yamato, Japan)
Suit, 1960s
Silk damask
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.21-22
Young Innocent by Arpeja
Mini Dress, 1960s
Synthetic fabric
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.24
Part Elizabethan, part hippie, this dress has striking similarities to the poster by Bonnie MacLean on the adjacent wall. They both freely borrow from historical styles without worrying about the accuracy of the details.
Paul Sargent
Shirt, 1960s
Velveteen
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.26
The vegetal forms and stylized flowers of this natty velveteen shirt reference the strong influence of Art Nouveau, seen in both fashion and posters of the 1960s. The Paul Sargent boutique in Greenwich Village, New York, was the go-to source for hip fashions, largely inspired by the London scene rather than that of San Francisco.
Impressions by M
Trousers, 1960s
Velveteen (?)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.28
Dollyrockers
Maxi Dress, 1960s
Synthetic fabric (polyester or rayon)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.25
Art Nouveau is the inspiration for this dress with stylized floral patterns.
Perri Montreal
Dress, 1960s
Synthetic fabric (polyester or rayon)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.16
The 1960s was the heyday for Op art, which features geometric forms that create optical effects. The worlds of fashion and posters both experimented with these trippy designs that seem to vibrate and move.
Unknown designer (Alexander Henry fabric)
Dress, 1960s
Cotton
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.29
The kaleidoscopic design of this dress is akin to the trippy colors and pattern effects poster artists used to suggest altered states.
Scott Paper Company
Paper Caper Bandana Dress, 1966
Dura-Weave
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2024.12.20
In 1965, Scott Paper Company launched a mail-in promotion for simple A-line dresses made from Dura-Weave, a rayon fabric sandwiched between two layers of cellulose fiber. This sparked a nationwide fad among the youth for disposable “paper dresses,” as many additional brands joined in with their own varieties of synthetic fabrics.
The original Scott designs were a black and white Op art print and a red and yellow bandana print, seen here. This example echoes the enthusiasm for the Wild West iconography of psychedelic rock posters at the same moment, while the throwaway nature of the paper dress speaks to the quickly changing trends driven by youth culture and the future of fast fashion.
Beg, Borrow, and Steal
Appropriation in Psychedelic Posters
Appropriation was at the crux of the psychedelic style. Artists plucked imagery from the past and the present, freed it from context, and made new creations that challenged the original meaning of the signs and symbols. Victorian valentines, Edwardian fashions, Wild West posters and circus billboards, magazine clippings, Renaissance paintings, Eastern religion, Art Nouveau lettering and designs, Native American dress and symbols, and Christian iconography were all adopted, adapted, and, in some cases, misused by the artists.
By and large, the cultural appropriation was playful and well-meaning. As hippies searched for a new paradigm, liberated from the cultural constraints of middle-class America, “exotic” sources such as Eastern religion and Native American customs offered, it seemed to them, a viable way to approach the world. While the intent was fueled by optimism, the impact was often negative, especially in the case of American Indians. Misunderstandings, both naive and deliberate, distorted the original meanings and offended the source communities.
While appropriation can be found throughout this exhibition, this section takes a closer look at three distinct areas: the myth of the Old West, Native American imagery, and Art Nouveau sources. How was the formation of a countercultural identity dependent on existing paradigms? Is this creative reuse or cultural colonialism?
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944-1991)
“Cha”; The Charlatans, Salvation Army Banned, Blue Cheer, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, May 26-28
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-63)
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.73.1
This trio of posters is perhaps the finest example of cowboy psychedelia. Griffin used a photograph by Herb Greene of two members of the Charlatans dressed as outlaws for the first poster, which debuted in May. In June, a subsequent poster featured an additional two band members. When it came time for the third poster, Griffin was overcommitted with projects, so Robert Fried finished the triptych in Griffin’s style with a third photo by Greene, of band member Michael Ferguston. The lettering across the three posters when placed together, spells the name of the band. Due to the timing of the events, the posters were unlikely to have been seen simultaneously.
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944–1991)
“RLAT”; The Charlatans, The 13th Floor Elevators, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, June 22–25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-67)
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.73.2
Robert Fried
(American, 1937–1975)
“TANS”; The Charlatans, The Youngbloods, The Other Half, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, July 13–16
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-71)
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.73.3
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 205
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944–1991)
“Charlatans Front Porch”; The Charlatans, The Sparrow, Canned Heat, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, April 7–8
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-56)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.64
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944–1991)
“Independance”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Siegal-Schwall Band, The Phoenix, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, July 4
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-69)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.13
Griffin couldn’t resist puns, which can be found throughout his posters. Here, he converts an old-fashioned corporate bond into hippie currency by replacing “independence” with “independance” and adding the Family Dog motto—May the Baby Jesus shut your mouth and open your mind—to the shield.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940–2008)
“Balloon”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Daily Flash, Country Joe and the Fish, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, November 18–19
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-35)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.6
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, born 1937)
“Triplets”; Sons of Champlin, Jerry Steig & the Satyrs, The Fourth Way, Alexander’s Timeless Bloozband, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, March 29–31
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-112)
Museum Purchase: Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2023.72.4
The Wild West and Old San Francisco
The myth of the frontier was a powerful draw for counterculturists searching to forge a new identity. Outlaws, traveling medicine men and hucksters, saloons, and shoot-outs evoked the antiestablishment vibe that resonated with hippies. References to California’s 1848 gold rush, San Francisco’s great earthquake of 1906, and the fading remnants of 19th-century culture, fashion, and literature still echoed in the 1960s; they were transposed into forms representing a hip alternative to middle-class, conformist life.
Fashion followed a similar route. Suddenly, Western-style shirts, waistcoats, and wide-brimmed hats mingled with bandana-motif dresses and Annie Oakley–inspired cowgirl garb, all pulled from grandparents’ attics and the local thrift stores. Sepia-toned photographs captured the looks and made their way into the posters, completing a cycle in which posters influenced fashion, which, in turn, influenced posters.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937–2020)
“Laugh Cure”; The Blues Project, The Sons of Adam, Quicksilver Messenger Service, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, May 13–14
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-8)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.67
The two smiling figures in the upper corners of this poster appear hysterical or deranged, but they were in perfect harmony in the 1915 advertisement for Vitality Supreme toothpaste in which they originally appeared. By repurposing the images and placing them in a new, discordant context, Wilson created a novel and surprising design.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940–2008)
“Edgar Allen Poe”; The Daily Flash, Country Joe and the Fish, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, October 20–21
Offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-31)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.5
Randy Tuten
(American, born 1946)
Grateful Dead, Junior Walker & the All Stars, The Glass Family, 1969
Fillmore West, June 5–8
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-176)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.22
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 206
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940–2008)
10th Biennial Wilderness Conference, 1967
Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, April 7–9
Color offset lithograph on paper
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.41
The artists used a 1913 illustration of Appeal to the Great Spirit, a sculpture by Cyrus Edwin Dallin (1861–1944), to suggest the back-to-nature ethos of the Sierra Club. Marijuana foliage ornaments the sides of the central motif, much to the chagrin of the organizers. “When folks—whether they are hippies or New-Agers—take our images, teachings, and ceremonies, not only are they stealing, but they are also being irresponsible. They do not have the right and have not been imbued with the responsibility to uphold and pass on our traditions and knowledge to younger generations. To us it is theft, and it doesn’t reflect the commitment to the community that lies at the heart of Native society.”
—Lisa J. Watt (Seneca)
Member, Native Advisory Council
“Playing Indian”
Appropriation of Native Imagery
In the 1960s, the counterculture’s widespread appropriation of Native culture, imagery, and dress—what Dakota scholar Philip Deloria calls “playing Indian”—was based on reductive stereotypes and the harmful myth of the “Vanishing Indian.” Although some authentically engaged with Native Americans and participated in the Red Power movement (such as the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969–71), the majority were content to lift Native imagery and interpret cultural practices without reflection or more than superficial knowledge.
For their part, rock poster artists relied heavily on The American Heritage Book of Indians (on view nearby), a then-popular publication that romanticizes
Native Americans through photographs by Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952) from the first decades of the 20th century. His images, themselves problematic in terms of their nostalgic sepia-toned romanticism, were then translated into posters, creating a chain of appropriation and reinterpretation that moved even farther from reality.
For many Native people, the impact has ranged from irritation to insult, though members of the counterculture had seized on the image of the Native American to signify their otherness from “straight” society and to profess support for what they perceived as a more pure, peaceful, authentic existence. We offer these images here as an opportunity to understand how the Native people depicted were individuals important to their communities and cultural heritage, while accompanying labels provide contemporary reflections from Native PAM staff, artist Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke), and Lisa J. Watt (Seneca), a member of the Museum’s Native Advisory Group. We invite you to consider both the intent and the effect of these posters, then and now.
Mary Weaver Chapin, Curator of Prints and Drawings
Kathleen Ash-Milby (Navajo Nation), Curator of Native American Art
Erin Grant (Colorado River Indian Tribes), Assistant Curator of Native American Art
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944–1991)
Pow-Wow: A Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In, 1967
Golden Gate Park, January 14
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref.: Art of Rock 2.215
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.45
The counterculture was greatly attracted to the concept of a new, tribal social organization, despite their limited knowledge of Native American culture. Griffin transposed a wood engraving of the sculpture Friendly Scout Signaling the Main Column by Frederic Remington (1861–1909), replacing the shotgun in the man’s left arm with an electric guitar. The bolts clutched in the eagle’s talons reference “white lightning,” a nickname for LSD.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937–2020)
“Tribal Stomp”; Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother & the Holding Company, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, February 19
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-1)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.1
Early in 1966, music promoter Chet Helms handed Wilson The American Heritage Book of Indians, on view nearby, as inspiration for this and subsequent posters. Helms selected the photograph Sioux Chiefs by Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952) for the central motif and the small image of a First Nations man for the design in the upper left corner, which he would soon refigure as the logo for Family Dog.
The American Heritage Book of Indians
Alvin M. Josephy Jr., Editor in Charge, with texts by William Brandon and an introduction by John F. Kennedy, President of the United States. American Heritage Publishing Co., distributed by Simon and Schuster, 1961.
First published in 1961 and reprinted numerous times, this book served as a popular and accessible source for readers curious about Native American life. Wes Wilson, among others, repurposed several of its images for his posters, many of which are on view in this section.
The introduction by President John F. Kennedy strikes a progressive tone and acknowledges the “national disgrace” of the treatment of American Indians, but much of the text romanticizes and exoticizes the tribes, exalting their “primitive splendor” and the technology of their “barbaric longboats.” Widely distributed, the book both reflected and shaped contemporary attitudes toward Native Americans: nominally well-meaning but paternalistic and ill-informed.
Stanley Mouse
(American, Born 1940)
“Indian”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Great Society, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, September 9 & 10
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-25)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.28
The source image is a portrait of Bear Bull (Blackfoot) by Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), reproduced in The American Heritage Book of Indians, a publication shared among the poster artists.
“The appropriation of a person’s portrait by people who are not his descendants or members of his tribe is theft, in the culture of many Native American tribes. It shouldn’t be done.”
-Lisa J. Watt (Seneca)
Member, Native Advisory Group
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Blues Project, The Great Society, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, April 22-23
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-5)
Portland Art Museum, T2024.66.1
Chet Helms instructed Wilson to devise a logo for Family Dog using the image of the man pictured here. Wilson replaced the sitter’s German pipe with a marijuana cigarette, and thus a psychedelic icon was born. The logo can be found in the top left corner of posters throughout this exhibition.
The sitter, photographed in 1897 near Bakerville, British Columbia, was from a First Nations community and was likely Stó:lo Chief Emitt Liquatum of the Yale First Nation. Whomever he was, he was an individual with a name who was known by his family and community, and more than a mere mascot.
“Whether the use of this portrait was meant as homage or parody, closely associating an image of a Native person with the term ‘dog’ reminds me of the racism embodied in the ‘No Indians or Dog Allowed’ signs used by Alaska businesses until the practice was banned in the mid-20th century. For far too long our people were not considered fully human, so this visual ‘joke’ falls flat for me.’
-Kathleen Ash-Milby (Navajo Nation)
Curator of Native American Art
John Van Hamersveld
(American, Born 1941)
Jefferson Airplane, Charlie Musselwhite, The Ceyleib People, Clear Light, 1968
Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, February 23-24
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref: Art of Rock 3.66
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.75
This poster appropriates an 1898 photograph of Blackfeet tribal delegate Thunder Cloud by Frank Alber Reinehart (1861-1928). Van Hamersveld attempts to mimic a Native beading style to form the nearly illegible text surrounding the image.
Wendy Red Star(Apsáalooke and American, born 1981)
1180 Crow Peace Delegation:
Alaxchiiaahush/Many War Achievements or Plenty Coups, aka Chíilaphuchissaaleesh/Buffalo Bull Facing The Wind, 2014.
Pigment-based inkjet print with hand coloring
Museum Purchase: Acquired with the assistance of The Ford Family Foundation and the Native American Art and Photography funds, 2015.104.1j
In a witty and provocative series of six digital prints, contemporary Native artist Wendy Red Star interrogates historical photographs of Native Americans taken by Charles Milton Bell (1848-1893) around 1878-90. Red Star’s annotations in the margins confer life, specificity, and honor to each individual. We offer Red Star’s example as a contrast to the casual usage of Native imagery by poster artists of the 1960s.
“I wanted to show the viewer that these are real people. These aren’t just a symbol of the Native spirit or chief. I wanted to show that this is much more complicated than this aesthetically pleasing image.”
-Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke)
Follow this link to watch a six minute video of Red Star discussing this series for Kahn Academy.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/native-north-america/native-american-contemporary-art/v/peace-delegation
Norman Orr
(American, born 1949)
Cold Blood, Boz Scaggs, The Voices Of East Harlem, Stoneground, 1969-70
Fillmore West, December 31-January 3
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-264)
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.28
An 1899 photograph of two members of the Southern Cheyenne – Hachiini (Little Chief) and Maqiniryuta (Turkey Leg) – forms the central motif of this poster. Orr has added a political button reading “Remember Alcatraz” to the woman’s vest, a reference to the occupation of Alcatraz Island by Native Americans that was underway at the time, which attracted support from the hippie community.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Moby Grape, The Chambers Brothers, The Charlatans, 1967
Winterland, March 24 & 25
Fillmore Auditorium, March 26
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-56)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.34
No precise source has been found for Wilson’s mask design. Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse, curator of Northwest Native American Art at the Burke Museum, has suggested that the figure is so stylized that it most likely does not refer to a particular mask or totem pole face. It bears some resemblance to reinterpretations or appropriations of the Hawaiian god “Ku” (Kuka’ilimoku).
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 207
Bonnie Maclean
(American, 1939-2020)
Sam & Dave, The James Cotton Blues Band, Country Joe and the Fish, The Loading Zone, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, July 18-23
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-73)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.49
MacLean gathered disparate motifs from Pacific Northwest tribes to create this fanciful design. The top half is a copy of a painting found on a Kwakiutl housefront representing an orca whale, which she found in the 1955 publication Primitive Art by ethnographer Franz Boas. The lowest tier suggests an unrolled silver bracelet design, source unknown.
“Yikes. This image has two layers of appropriation. First, Boas harmfully stole tribal and clan crests by depicting them in his publication. These motifs are cultural property of the Kwakiutl and can signify a clan or person’s social standing in their community. Then comes MacLean, who readapts the imagery again for commercial use in this poster.
These designs were never meant to be used and portrayed by outsiders. Would you want a random person to steal your family crest or religious iconography and place it out of context?
-Erin Grant (Colorado River Indian Tribes)
Assistant Curator of Native American Art
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Otis Redding & His Orchestra, Grateful Dead, Johnny Talbot and De Thangs, Country Joe and The Fish, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, December 20-22
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-43)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.65
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Muddy Waters Blues Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Andrew Staples, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, November 4-6
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-35)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.55
Echoes of German and Austrian Art Nouveau styles can be found in the lettering and the spooling design that unfurls like tendrils on each side of this poster. The nimbus around the face of Muddy Waters, the headliner at the Fillmore Auditorium, confers saintly status.
Art Nouveau Dreams
Art Nouveau design, which flourished from the 1890s into the early 1900s, was among the foremost influences on the young poster artists of the 1960s. Itself a radical break from the past, Art Nouveau embraced sinuous lines of foliage, rich patterning of animal life, and rhythmic repetition of ornament.
Important exhibition catalogues of this material were published in the 1960s, offering inspiration during the first great flourishing of the poster and introducing artists to the work of past European and American talents, including Aubrey Beardsley, William Bradley, Alfred Roller, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry van de Velde, and, most influentially, Alphonse Mucha.
San Francisco artists adopted the intricate letter designs, whiplash arabesques, and flowing lines of the 1890s to their own ends. Because they looked to a variety of Art Nouveau sources—American, Austrian, English, and French—no single style dominated psychedelic rock posters. This section highlights some examples, but be sure to note the Art Nouveau qualities of the peacocks featured in the Animal Attraction section.
Wilson, Wes
(American, 1937-2020)
Bally Lo Fashions, 1966
Color offset lithograph on paper
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.48
Wilson used a stylized motif reminiscent of peacock feathers and swirling letters for this Art Nouveau -inspired advertisement for Bally Lo Boutique. The psychedelic design would have immediately signaled to viewers that this shop was intended for the young and hip San Francisco crowd.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-20008)
“The Woman With The Green Hair”: Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Electric Train,1966
Avalon Ballroom, October 7-8,
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-29)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.47
For Comparison
Alphonse Mucha
(Czech, 1860-1939)
Job, 1897
Color lithograph on paper
Collection Of Dan Bergsvik And Don Hastler, L2024.14.1
Mucha flourished as one of the leading poster artists in Paris in the 1890’s. Idealized female figures recur in his work, whether advertising an art exhibition, a theater performance, or Job cigarette papers, as in this work.
John Lichtenwalner
(American, 1921-2016)
Big Brother and The Holding Company, Jack The Ripper, 1967
The Ark, Sausalito, October 6
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref: Art of Rock 2.309
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.1
For Comparison
Alphonse Mucha
(Czech, 1860-1939)
Salon des Cent, 1896
Color lithograph on paper
Collection of Dan Bersvik and Don Hastler, L2024.14.2
Mucha was among the most admired Art Nouveau artists by the psychedelic rock poster designers. His works feature elaborate ornamentation, stylized vegetal forms, classical draftsmanship, and a penchant for perfectly coiled and flowing hair. Lichtenwalner transformed Mucha’s languid female figure with radiant color. His organic lettering mimics the tendrils of the model’s tresses.
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Charles Lloyd Quartet, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, January 20-22
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-46)
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.5
In 1965, the University of California, Berkeley, hosted the exhibition Jugendstil & Expressionism in German Posters, which introduced audiences to this dynamic moment in art, from around 1900 to 1920. Wilson missed the show but found the catalogue (a testament to the importance of museum catalogues!) and became fascinated by the lettering of Viennese artist Alfred Roller. It is no overstatement to claim that ROller’s style, as interpreted by Wilson, launched the new psychedelic lettering that defined this generation.
In this poster, Wilson evokes the Austrian and the German styles of Art Nouveau (known as Secessionism and Jugenstil, respectively) with blocky lettering, swirling ornamentation, and gold ink.
David Singer
(American, Born 1941)
Miles Davis, Elvin Bishop Group, Mandrill, 1971
Fillmore West, May 6-9
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-279)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.61
David Singer
(American, Born 1941)
Humble Pie, Swamp Dogg, Shanti, 1970
Fillmore West, May 13-16,
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-280)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.62
The dramatic shapes and flowing lines of these two posters by Singer evoke the work of English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley, a brilliant talent who died at age 25. Beardsley’s work saw a revival in the 1960’s, following a major exhibition in London. It is possible that a copy of the 1966 catalogue found its way to Singer, who interpreted, rather than copied, Beardsley’s elegant style.
Altered States of Consciousness
LSD, a staple of the 1960s psychedelic scene, was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1938, and then in the 1950s, the US Central Intelligence Agency began covert experiments with this potent drug.
Early adopters, including Aldous Huxley and Timothy Leary, advocated for the use of LSD to expand human consciousness, a message that was readily adopted by the counterculture of San Francisco.
A desire to break through to a fuller reality and pass through “the doors
of perception,” in Huxley’s memorable phrase, is at the heart of the
psychedelic experience. The term psychedelic comes from the Greek
psyche (mind) and deloun (make visible or reveal) and captures the attempt to peer into the hidden workings of human consciousness and translate that knowledge into a new vision.
Other drugs, notably marijuana, peyote, and mescaline, offered further avenues of mind exploration. Artists strove to communicate this altered reality through their posters. Rick Griffin created surreal worlds full of fanciful insects, flying eyeballs, and spermatic squiggles; Wes Wilson distorted human heads to depict the mind-bending attributes of drugs; Bob “Raphael” Schnepf and David Singer used Christian iconography to suggest a mystical, ecstatic realm beyond the ordinary; and Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley used a skeleton crowned with roses as the ultimate symbol for trippy transcendence.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Zig Zag Man”; Big Brother and The Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, June 24-25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-14)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.68
Zig-Zag cigarette rolling papers date back to mid-19th-century France. The original emblem features Zoavuv (a French infantryman who served in North Africa) wearing a characteristic beard and hat, smoking a cigarette, and displaying the French je ne c’est quoi coolness that likely appealed to the San Francisco hippie scene. Naturally, hippies appreciated Zig-Zag for rolling jarijuana rather than tobacco.
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944-1991)
“Eternal Reservoir” Or “The Source”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, Kaleidoscope, Charlie Musselwhite, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, January 12-14
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-101)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.71
Griffin’s visual vocabulary was like that of no other psychedelic poster artist. Rather than borrowing historical motifs, he created his own potent biophilic universe of wings, hearts, suns, sperm and ova, scarabs, insects, and hybrid creatures. Featuring his signature lettering, this poster is as unnerving as it is memorable.
Rick Griffin and Victor Moscoso
(American, 1944-1991) (American, born Spain, 1936)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Buddy Miles Express, Dino Valenti, 1968
Winterland, October 10-12
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-140)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2019.29.43
For Comparison
Odilon Redon
(French, 1840-1916)
Everywhere Eyeballs Are Ablaze, from The Temptation of Saint Anthony, first series, 1888
Lithograph on ivory China paper, laid down on ivory wove paper
Museum Purchase: Print Acquisition Fund, 2017.92.1
For Comparison
Odilon Redon
(French, 1840-1916)
…And That Of The Eye Without A Head Floating Like Mollusks, from The Temptation of Saint Anthony, third series, 1896
Lithograph Printed chine collé on cream wove paper
Museum Purchase: Funds Provided By Eduardo A. Vides And Bruce Guenther, 2014.31.1
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944-1991)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Mayall and the BluesBreakers, Albert King, 1968
Fillmore Auditorium, February 1 and 4
Winterland, February 2-3
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-105)
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.50a-e
A winged, bloodshot eyeball with a brilliant blue iris dominates the center of this enigmatic hallucination. Three tentacles emerge from the eye; one holds a glowering skull aloft. A flaming aperture surrounds the eye, which the tentacles attempt to hold back. Like Mouse and Kelley’s skeleton and roses, on view nearby, Griffin’s flying eyeball is an icon of the psychedelic era.
Rick Griffin
(American, 1944-1991)
Grateful Dead, Sons Of Champlin, Initial Shock, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, January 24-26
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref:Art of Rock 2.24
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.27
Egyptian motifs and fertility symbols combine in Griffin’s fecund and surreal composition. Sperm act as the rays of the sun (an ova), trees spring from uterine forms, and babies gestate in the generative soil. The Grateful Dead were wildly enthusiastic about this poster and asked Griffin to adapt it for the cover of their album Aoxomoxoa, released two months later.
Harvey Cohen
(American, active 1960s)
Krishna Consciousness Comes West, 1967
Avalon Ballroom, January 29
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref.: Art of Rock 2.18
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.51
A dazzling lineup of bands gathered at the Avalon Ballroom for a benefit concert for the San Francisco Krishna Temple in the heart of Haight-Ashbury. Hippies found the community ife and the spiritual quest of its followers highly appealing, even if the strictures against drug use and extramarital sex dimmed their enthusiasm.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
Human Be-In, 1967
Golden Gate Park, January 14
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref: Art of Rock 2.217
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.59
The Human Be-In, held January 14, 1967, celebrated the counterculture’s values of higher consciousness achieved through the hippie lifestyle, Eastern religion, and above all, LSD. An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people turned out to hear Timothy Leary, an advocate for LSD usage, who famously urged attendees to “turn on, tune in, drop out.” The Eye of Providence – a Masonic symbol found on the US $1 bill – on the guru’s forehead evokes the third eye that represents enlightenment.
San Andreas Fault (Tad Hunter)
(American, active 1960s)
“Rosebud”; Country Joe and the Fish, Pacific Gas and Electric, Boggie, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, July 23-25
Offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-129)
Loan from the Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.43
Hunter, who designed posters under the moniker San Andreas Fault, based this poster on a photograph by Jerry Wainwright of a nude woman in the lotus position. Yoga was gaining ground in the hippie community as another mode for mind expansion and exploration.
David Singer
(American, born 1941)
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Savoy Brown, Keith Relf’s Renaissance, 1969
Fillmore West, March 5-8
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-221)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.53
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, born 1937)
“Flash”; The Doors, Lothar and the Hand People, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, 1967
1601 West Evans Street, Denver, September 29-30
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-84)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.32
In this, Schnepf’s most iconic poster, he captures a spirit of ecstatic celebration. The source image, an 1870 illustration by French artist Gustave Doré, depicts the biblical story in which Jephthah’s daughter comes out to greet him “with timbrels and with dances” (Judges 11:34). The halo-like background of brilliant, checkered yellow suggests both a holy nimbus and the strobing atmosphere of a psychedelic light show.
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 210
Bob “Raphael” Schnepf
(American, Born 1937)
Summer Of Love, City of San Francisco, 1967
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Berkeley Bonaparte
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.31
The prayer of Saint Francis accompanies Schnepf’s poster of the Summer of Love. Hippie ideals of peace, love, and understanding found precedents in Christian doctrine, a surprising amount of Christian iconography appears in countercultural posters.
David Singer
(American, Born 1941)
Steve Miller Band, Bo Diddley, Crow, 1969
Fillmore West, July 16-19
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-243)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.57
David Singer and Wilfried Sätty
(American, Born 1941) (German, 1939-1982)
Lee Michales, Cold Blood, Brethren, Ten Years After, Cactus, Toe Fat, 1969
Fillmore West, July 23-26 and 28-29
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by BIll Graham (BG-244)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.58
Stinger often partnered with Sätty, a talented artist who produced complex collages composed of Victorian engravings and found pictures. Both men were skilled assemblers of images, combining sources and integrating them into their compositions to create uncanny, otherworldly visions.
Wilfried Sätty
(German, 1939-1982)
Ragtime: Holiday Fashion Collection, 1970
Grace Cathedral, September 9-10
Color offset lithograph on paper
Gift of Gary Westford, 2023.69.52
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Otis Rush and His Chicago Blues Band, The Mothers, Morning Glory, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, March 3-5
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-53)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.34
A pair of heads – one male, one female – emerge from a rainbow effect produced by the split-fountain printing technique. Wilson employed his extensive knowledge of the process to enhance his sophisticated use of color. He claimed the visual experiences of LSD inspired his chromatic selections.
Lee Conklin
(American, Born 1941)
The James Cotton Blues Band, Iron Butterfly, A. B. Skhy, 1969
Fillmore Auditorium, January 23-26
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by BIll Graham (BG-157)
Loan From The Gary Westford Collection, L2023.90.20
A human head composed of naked bodies forms the central image of this hallucinogenic scene. Disembodied limbs join to create the lettering across the forehead. Conklin’s designs are among the most lurid and phantasmagorical of the era.
Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, and Rick Griffin
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008) (American, 1944-1991)
“Trip or Freak”; Quicksilver Messenger Service, Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, 1967, reprinted 1991
Winterland, October 31
Color offset lithograph on paper
Ref.: Art of Rock 2.183
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.78
Three of the top poster talents joined forces to advertise a Halloween concert with an all-star lineup. The harrowing skull in the center comes from a still of Lon Chaney in the 1925 silent film Phantom of the Opera. The skull evokes not only the spooky thrill of the original movie but also the mind-tripping effect of LSD. The lettering at top, drafted by Mouse, is in the form of a grinning, naked woman.
Alton Kelley
(American, 1940-2008)
“Zebra Man”; The 13th Floor Elevators, Quicksilver Messenger Service, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, September 30-October 1
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-28)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.44
Bonnie Maclean
(American, 1939-2020)
The Who, The Loading Zone, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, June 16-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-68)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.43
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Jefferson Airplane, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, April 15 and 17
Harmon Gymnasium, UC Berkeley, April 16
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-3)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.27
Robert Fried
(American, 1937-1975)
“The Sorcerer”; Steppenwolf, Charlie Musselwhite, The Fourth Way, Indian Head Band, 1968
Avalon Ballroom, April 19-21
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-115)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.21
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Dino Valenti, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, February 3-5
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-48)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.32
Wilson’s expressive lettering pairs perfectly with the morphing heads that appear to melt and slide across the picture plane. The visual distortions of an acid trip are cannily reproduced in this, one of Wilson’s finest posters.
San Andreas Fault (Tad Hunter)
(American, active 1960s)
Moby Grape, It’s A Beautiful Day, The Other Half, Tim Hardin, 1969
Winterland, January 24-25
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-690124)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.80
Whether melting, moving, or morphing, heads are a recurrent theme in posters to denote the psychedelic experience. The slang term “heads” was first used in the early 20th century to designate drug addicts; hippies appropriated and revitalized the term. They purchased posters, pot paraphernalia, fashions, and accessories at the local “head shops,” followers of the Grateful Dead adopted the moniker Dead Heads, and Jefferson Airplane exhorted listeners to ”feed your head.”
Wes Wilson
(American, 1937-2020)
Otis Rush and His Chicago Blues Band, Grateful Dead, Canned Heat, 1967
Fillmore Auditorium, February 24-26
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Bill Graham (BG-51)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.42
Wilson’s pliant lettering flows around the androgynous head. The rhythmic undulations mimic the movement of sound waves while the figure’s steady
Unknown artist
Will They Turn You On or Will They Turn On You?, 1967
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.18
Widespread drug use prompted the United States government to warn young people of its dangers. In this example, the artist employed a psychedelic style and DayGLo inks to reach its audience. Although the message is putatively antidrug, one detects a hint of glee in the way the artist so playfully integrated the many slang terms for drugs around the central design.
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Skeleton and Roses”; Grateful Dead, Oxford Circle, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, September 16-17
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-26)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2023.69.11
Mouse and Kelley, like other artists of their period, searched for inspiration in books and image files at the San Francisco Public Library. Together they happened upon an engraving of a skeleton bedecked with roses by Edward Joseph Sulivan for an edition of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The artists riffed on this design, creating a classic image that helped define the band’s identity and that became an enduring emblem of both the Grateful Dead and the psychedelic era.
Bloomberg Connects Audio Guide 209
Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
(American, born 1940) (American, 1940-2008)
“Frankenstein”; Grateful Dead, Sopwith Camel, 1966
Avalon Ballroom, August 19-20
Color offset lithograph on paper
Published by Family Dog (FD-22)
Gift Of Gary Westford, 2019.29.3
So iconic is Mouse and Kelley’s “Skeleton & Roses” design that it is hard to realize that the Grateful Dead had no specific visual brand prior to their groundbreaking poster, created less than a month after “Frankenstein.” In the meantime, the fearsome visage of the monster served them well, even if the band’s name was misspelled.